Only Hope
by kclandestineheart
Summary: Quinn Ryder traveled to Andromeda with her family to start a new life. She never expected, nor wanted, to become the Human Pathfinder. Quinn finds heartache, pain, stress, friendship, loneliness, love, and so much more in Andromeda. Chronicles the story of Mass Effect Andromeda through the eyes of a female Ryder. This will be a series of chapters between combat.
1. Chapter 1

While playing the game, I got an idea to write about Ryder's experience from the moment she wakes up and discovers she is the new Pathfinder. Whenever I think about how stressful that must have been, I think of all the things a video game leaves out because it's a game, not a movie. The characters are usually pretty perfect in order for the story to flow. I wanted to add to that with this story and make Ryder a little more human and realistic. A lot of the dialogue will be changed, but the general storyline will be followed.

Please read and review. I really want to write a story worth reading and one that you all will enjoy.

* * *

Ryder blinked repeatedly, the dim lights in the room burning her eyes.

"Welcome back, Ryder," SAM's electronic voice sounded through her comms. Attempting to sit up, Ryder winced, grabbing her side as she finished the task.

"Thanks, SAM. How long was I out?"

"12 hours."

 _Shit, that long?_ Ryder thought as she looked around, realizing she was in SAM node.

"Did the others make it?" Ryder's memory of the accident on Habitat 7 began to come back. They had crash landed on the planet. Lightening had struck her shuttle, breaking it in half and scattering the team. After fighting their way through the immediate area, she eventually met up with her father and attempted to interface with alien tech. Before her thoughts could wander to her father's whereabouts, Liam's voice cut through.

"Hey, you're awake," he spoke softly, concern coloring his expression. He immediately opened his omni-tool and called the others. "Hey guys, get to SAM node. Ryder's awake." He stood and gave Ryder a once over, clearly looking for permanent damage. "Who were you talking to before?"

"SAM."

"I didn't hear SAM," Liam replied, a puzzled look on his face. A soft _whoosh_ broke the silence and both Cora and Lexi rushed over.

"How are you feeling?" Lexi questioned, using her omni-tool to scan Ryder.

"Sore," Ryder complained. She glanced past Cora and Lexi, looking for her father. Then it hit her, he had given her his helmet before she passed out. She vaguely remembered Cora and Liam standing over her body on Habitat 7, calling for the evac. Then Lexi and Harry working on her, discussing something about her brain overloading. Ryder turned her head, catching sight of her father's battered helmet on the table next to her. "Where's my dad?"

Cora, Liam, and Lexi all shared a look. Fear, sadness, and avoidance appeared on their faces within a matter of seconds. Silence fell over the room briefly. Ryder felt her chest constrict as Lexi spoke.

"There was an accident, Ryder. Your father didn't make it."

Tears threatened to burn her eyes as Cora spoke.

"It was you or him... and he chose you," Cora couldn't even look her in the eyes and Ryder dropped her head, trying to maintain her composure. "You're the new Pathfinder."

Ryder's head shot up so fast it hurt her neck. "SAM?"

"Alec authorized the transfer of Pathfinder authority to you."

"Uh... shouldn't that be Cora?" It took all her strength to not let her voice crack. She felt overwhelmed. So much had happened in the last minute.

"In theory," Cora said, her voice trailing off. She could hear it in her tone, she was upset.

"It's all academic, really," Lexi casually responded, clearly trying to change the subject. "Look here," Lexi instructed Ryder, moving her finger in front of her face and assessing her cognitive abilities.

"What was dad thinking?" Ryder could feel her heart rate increasing and the lump in her throat growing.

"He obviously had faith in you. I say, run with it. You got this." Liam sounded so damn confident in her. She looked up at him, trying to figure him out. He barely knew her. Habitat 7 was the extent of their time together. Hardly what she'd call a good assessment of her abilities.

"We'll be at the Nexus soon. We need to figure out the plan." Cora instructed.

"She is in no condition to get right back into the thick of it." Lexi scolded Cora.

"She has 2 hours." Cora glared at Lexi before turning to Ryder. "We'll need our _Pathfinder_ for this." She emphasized. The rejection Cora felt was dripping from every word, every look, every breath. The last thing Ryder wanted to do was have an insanely powerful biotic pissed at her. Cora and Lexi walked out, a hushed and seemingly heated conversation ensuing.

"You got this," Liam said, giving Ryder a soft pat on her shoulder before leaving her alone in SAM node.

"SAM, what is going on?" Ryder asked, her heart rate elevating. She could feel her vision closing in, her hands beginning to shake, and her stomach churning.

"Alec made you the Pathfinder."

"Why?"

"Unknown."

"I..." Ryder sucked in a ragged, deep breath. "I can't believe he's gone." A tear slipped down her cheek. She felt her chest begin to tighten further.

"Alec will be missed." Ryder closed her eyes, agreeing silently with SAM's final comment. When she opened her eyes, her tunnel vision became worse and her breathing was more erratic. "Ryder, your heart rate is elevated and your serotonin levels have changed. Are you feeling well?"

"Fuck off, SAM." Her harsh tone surprised both her and SAM.

"I will leave you to your thoughts, but Lexi has been alerted."

"Great," she groaned, wiping her eyes and attempting to calm herself. She knew what was happening. A panic attack. She'd gotten them a few times before, like when her mom had died.

Lexi rushed in, carrying a bottle of pills, attempting to get one out. "Here Ryder, take this. SAM informed me that your may be experiencing some anxiety-related symptoms."

"Thanks," Ryder took the pill, popping it in her mouth and swallowing without any water. The powdery taste from the tablet made her nauseous, but she didn't care. She just wanted to chill out.

"You need to rest." Lexi was stern. "Go use the Pathfinder's quarters and get some rest. Captain Dunn has issued a release of the quarters to you."

Ryder nodded and lid off the table, wobbling a bit from all the information. Lexi steadied her and followed behind until Ryder made it to the doors of her new quarters. The doors softly slide open, revealing a room filled with her father's belongings. She felt sick, walking into the room that was meant for her father. The bed was directly in sight. Ryder walked straight over and dropped onto the bed, pulling a pillow down and hugging it, laying in the fetal position. The tears began to overwhelm Ryder and she cried, hard and ugly into the pillow before she fell asleep from the medication.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryder sat next to Scott's bed, her elbows resting on her knees as she stared at his sleeping form. _You better fucking wake up_ she thought to herself. She was devastated about her dad, and they hadn't been that close. If she lost Scott, her world would end. She sighed, sitting up straight and looking around. Doctor Harry Carlyle was tending to another patient and glanced over making eye contact with Ryder. He gave her a weak smile, clearly seeing the fear in her eyes. His weak smile indicated that Scott's condition was serious and that he might not wake up. Harry turned back to his patient and Ryder studied him. For an older guy, he was pretty hot. Ryder had thought that the first time she met him, back in the Milky Way. She sighed to herself again, lightly shaking her head. Now was not the time to think about romance, no matter how lonely she was. She had just been handed the responsibility of finding nearly 100,000 people a place to live. Upon arriving at the Nexus, the new leadership informed her of the disaster that was Andromeda. The Kett, messed up golden worlds, missing arks... nothing went right. Ryder gave Scott's hand a squeeze before she stood up, silently telling him she'd be back.

"Heading out?" Harry asked in his soothing voice.

"Yeah. Gotta find us a place to live, remember?" Ryder said, half sarcastic.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah Harry?"

"Don't forget to take care of yourself." Ryder looked into Harry's eyes and could see his concern. He knew she was hurting. From her father's unexpected death, to Scott's condition, she wasn't in the best place emotionally. Tacking on the responsibility of Pathfinder made it worse.

"I'll try," she replied, meaning it. She knew she'd had to attempt to keep herself sane in order to succeed. She couldn't bear the thought of letting her dad down after he'd sacrificed himself to save her.

Ryder strode confidently out of the tram, making her way to see the ship that Tann had given her. Cora was by her side. She couldn't tell if Cora's tenseness was directed at her, or at the situation. They had been dealt blow after blow since they'd arrived in Andromeda.

"There she is," Cora said, clearly in awe. Ryder watched as the Tempest circled the dock, the artificial sunlight making her glow. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was responsible for that ship. She swallowed the lump in her throat before straightening her back.

"Let's go check her out," Ryder instructed Cora. They walked together down to the ship once it had landed. A turian was directing dock crews, telling them to hurry up. The turian turned and marched over to Cora and Ryder.

"So you're the one responsible for getting this show on the road," she stated and shook hands with both Cora and Ryder. "You must be the Pathfinder."

"I'm Quinn Ryder, and this is Cora Harper, my second in command." Ryder felt the tension oozing from Cora with that statement. Cora just nodded at the turian.

"Vertra Nyx, jack of all trades," she rattled off, continuing to list her skill set. Ryder tuned out momentarily as she glanced around, checking out the ship's exterior. "I'm ready to get out of here."

"What's the rush?" Ryder turned her attention back to Vetra.

"We've been waiting 14 months for a Pathfinder. Time to make history," she stated as they began to head up the ramp onto the Tempest.

"Hold up!" A docking attendant chased down Vetra.

"Damnit," Vetra cursed under her breath.

"Is there a problem?" Ryder asked with authority.

"Addison needs a list of the supplies brought aboard."

"Tann overruled Addison."

"The supplies are listed for outpost settlement, and that falls under Addison's purview."

Vetra walked down the ramp and pulled the docking staff aside, speaking to him in hushed tones. Clearly she was working some sort of magic. Eventually, the staff member left and they were able to board. Vetra gave Ryder a quick tour of the Tempest and then left her to explore. She walked down the lower hallway towards the Pathfinder's quarters - her quarters. Ryder swallowed as the doors opened to reveal a much too large bedroom. The entire far wall was a window overlooking the Nexus. On the left side of the room was a bed and dresser. On the right was a sitting area and then a desk, fitted with SAM and a computer.

Ryder carefully strode into the room, feeling as though she were intruding on someone else's space. Her father's intended space. Ryder walked up to the window and looked out over the Nexus and thought about her situation. He father was gone and her brother was in a medically induced coma. People were starving and none of the golden worlds has panned out. Plus, the only alien race contacted so far was hostile. Ryder leaned on the railing in front of the window, squeezing the railing until her knuckles turned white. _Shit... can I do this?_ Ryder let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

"Ready when you are," Liam said through comms. Ryder opened her eyes and panic began to floor her system. Would she ever be ready?

"I'll be right there," Ryder replied and stood up, rolling her shoulders back and feeling the ache of tense muscles. She couldn't hide in her quarters forever. Plus, a small part of her desperately wanted to prove Nexus leadership wrong. Prove that she could do this job, not that she really wanted the job. Hell, she'd gladly hand this title over to Cora if SAM wasn't linked to her in such a manner that she'd die within him. A fact that terrified her. Ryder wondered if SAM could read her thoughts, or if he only saw through her eyes and heard when she spoke.

 _SAM?_ Ryder thought, curious to test this theory out. There was no response. Ryder sighed in relief. At least her thoughts were still private. Ryder ran her hands down her front, removing any wrinkles and walked out of her quarters and headed to the bridge.

Once there, she met her pilot, Kallo, who seemed nice enough. He began to show her the console in the center of the bridge. The display in front of her was confusing and she was 1000% unsure of how to work it. This made her anxious. She didn't want to look like an idiot in front of everyone. Kallo must have sensed her hesitation and he began to show her a few things.

"It was made for a _Pathfinder_ ," Cora said bitterly behind her. Ryder turned to Cora, reading her expression. Cora's expression changed almost immediately, as if her tone was an accident. Ryder glanced to Liam, who was standing behind Cora, a slight glare in his eyes at Cora's tone. After Kallo and Suvi stated that all crew had checked in, Cora asked if Ryder wanted to say anything for the log.

"Nope." Ryder said, having nothing good to say. She was terrified of her new position. "Let's head for Eos."


End file.
